


Night blooming flowers

by paupaupi



Category: The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Andy x Quynh, F/F, First Date, Fluff, Getting Together, Immortal Wives, Light Angst, The Old Guard Femslash Fortnight, andromaquynh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-16
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-16 19:49:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29955027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paupaupi/pseuds/paupaupi
Summary: Quynh loves flowers and has a shop called "Night blooming flowers". One day a strange woman starts coming to the shop and buying a diverse variety of flowers in different colors, which starts making her daily routine more interesting.
Relationships: Andy | Andromache of Scythia & Quynh | Noriko, Andy | Andromache of Scythia/Quynh | Noriko
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10





	Night blooming flowers

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lilolilyrae](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilolilyrae/gifts).



> This is for tuesday femslash for tnight: Alternate Universes: Flower shop.
> 
> This one shot is inspired in this [lilolilyr's idea](https://lilolilyr.tumblr.com/post/637022384876126208#notes).

**__ **

Quynh loves flowers. She loves them since she can remember. That’s why she has studied gardening and done a master in plant’s biology and florology. 

**_Flowers: symbols of long life, honour, good luck, purity of mind and heart, and health._ **

Quynh likes thinking about what each flower means to people, and how that changes depending on their colors and their cultures. She is always thinking about flowers in her mind. 

Once Quynh was over with university, she opened a flower shop and has been working happily on it since then. 

Her shop is called _“Night blooming flowers”_ and is very popular in the village she lives in. The flowers that blooms at night symbolize hope and good fortune. Quynh has chosen that name because it’s the meaning of her own name and it feels fitting for a flower shop. Her best friends, Nile and Celeste, work with her. Quynh is glad about it, because they make work even more fun. 

One day a woman she has never seen comes to the shop. Quynh finds herself looking at her constantly as she checks the flowers, too marveling about how beautiful she is. 

The stranger is wearing all black and simple clothes: jeans, tank top, and boots; but she kind of makes it work. She has short hair and the most expressive aqua eyes she has ever seen. 

“Hello”, Quynh finally finds her voice to greet the stranger. “Can I help you with anything?” She asks kindly.

“I’m not sure, I’m just looking to buy some flowers”, the stranger says, not really paying attention to her. 

“Are they for some special occasion?” Quynh requests to know, because maybe the details about what the flowers are for can help her find what the other woman is looking for.

“I just want something happy”, the stranger says, looking a little frustrated. 

“Well, in my experience something colorful is always cheerful”, she gives her opinion.

**_Gerberas: sign of happiness, relief and new possibilities._ **

“These are gerberas and we cut them today. They are simple, beautiful and come in a large variety of colors”, Quynh offers the new flowers she has brought to the shop today.

The stranger checks some more flowers, but finally decides to buy the gerberas Quynh has offered. She chooses a nice variety of colors: yellow, orange and purple. 

“Thanks for the help Quynh”, the stranger says after reading her tag name.

“You’re welcome”, she says, feeling like blushing at the way her name sounds in the other’s voice.

The next week the stranger comes back to the shop, looking for some flowers again.

“Hey”, Quynh greets her, happy to see the strange woman again. “Can I help you?” She asks nicely, like she always does with customers.

The stranger murmurs something unintelligible, checks for some flowers and finally chooses daisies. 

**_Daisies: sign of love, innocence and simplicity._ **

Quynh really wants to ask her what her name is and if she is new in the village, but doesn’t. She also wants to tell her about what daisies means and that they are a beautiful gift for anyone you care about. The stranger seems to not be in a good mood though, so Quynh just let it be and let her go.

“Who was that?” Nile asks her, once the stranger is gone.

“A new customer”, Quynh answers simply. 

“A new hot customer”, Nile adds playfully. 

“Nile”, She calls the other by her name in a warning way.

“What? I’m just saying the truth and I see the way you look at her”, Nile defends herself. 

“It doesn’t matter if I find her hot or beautiful, I don’t know her”, she argues. 

“Well maybe you should get to know her”, Nile suggests, like she is a genius. 

The talk ends there because they have more customers in the shop who need their attention. 

The next week the strange woman comes back once again. Like Quynh has been expecting, she asks for something that transmits happiness and transcendence... _like love._

“What about some tulips?” Quynh offers this time.

**_Tulips: sign of eternal love, nurturing and psychic insights._ **

“They are pretty”, the stranger appreciates, looking at the tulips.

“They are a sign of eternal love and they come in different colors too”, Quynh lets her know, remembering how the other has liked the colorful idea the other time.

“Perfect”, the stranger says.

She chooses turquoise, purple, orange and red colors this time. Quynh likes how she has taken her opinion on how colorful flowers are a symbol of something happy. She wonders what is that thing that brings happiness to the stranger woman. Quynh is not sure because she doesn’t know her, but most of the time the strange woman looks more sad than happy.

“You should ask her out”, Celeste advises her, once the stranger is gone.

“What? Why would I do that?”, Quynh questions her friend.

Quynh may find the stranger woman beautiful and interesting because of her mysterious vibes, but that doesn’t mean she wants to date her. _Right?_

“I saw the way she was checking you out, she thinks you are hot”, Celeste explains.

“I don’t know her, I don’t know what her name is, nor if she’s a good person, nor if she’s in a relationship”, Quynh expresses her point of view, freaking out a little at the idea of dating.

“Well, that’s the point of dating right? To get to know each other”, Celeste teases her.

Quynh throws some petals at her in a complaint way and they both laugh about it. But the topic is forgotten as they keep working.

For the next three months the stranger keeps coming to the shop once a week. She buys different kinds of flowers in different varieties of colors. As Quynh keeps attending to her she starts learning little things about her. 

Her name is Andromache, but everyone calls her Andy. She is from Ukraine, works in Lykon’s ranch and loves horses. She has a master in multiple languages, but is just a hobbie and never uses it as a way to gain money. 

What Quynh still doesn’t know is who the flowers Andy buys are for and if she is single or not. 

One afternoon Quynh finds herself in the cemetery, she is doing a delivery for a funeral. 

When Quynh is on her way out, she finds Andy. She is sitting in the grass by a couple of graves. The bouquet of colorful carnations Andy had bought this morning is kind of a mess, the flowers are distributed all around her and the graves. 

**_Carnations: sign of distinction, safety and gratitude._ **

Quynh is not sure if she should go to Andy, but she can’t help it. Quynh wants to talk to her and make sure she is okay.

“Hey Andy”, Quynh greets her softly, so she doesn’t scare her.

“Hi”, Andy greets her back, surprised at the other’s presence. “What are you doing here? Are you spying me?” She questions, standing up and looking angry at the interruption.

“No, I’m not”, she denies quickly, disgusted by the idea. “I came to do a delivery, and I just saw you and thought about saying hello”, she explains.

“Well you had, you can go now” Andy says in a rude way.

“I’m sorry, it wasn’t my intention to bother…”, she starts apologizing.

“Bother me?” Andy cuts her off. “You think I don’t know how the people of your village think I’m crazy? Do you think the same?” She questions the other, in an accusing way.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about”, she says honestly.

“Whatever, is not worth it anyway”, Andy rolls her eyes.

Quynh watches her go and feels really hurt about it. Her intention hasn't been to make the other woman feel bad. And somehow the situation seems a little terminal, like she has lost a chance with Andy. Quynh is not sure why she feels like that, but she does. Andy had looked at her with so much sadness and hopelessness, that somehow it makes her think she disappointed her in some way.

“You don’t know about the plane crush?” Nile asks her, once she tells her and Celeste all about her encounter with Andy in the cemetery.

“What plane crush?” Quynh requests to know, feeling worried about it.

“The one Lykon’s survive”, Nile answers.

“Yes, I remember. It was big, most of the passengers died, there were only five survivors”, Quynh recalls. 

“Andy was one of those survivors, with Lykon, and some guys call Yusuf, Nicolo and Sebastian. But Andy’s sisters, they all died”, Celeste informs her. 

Quynh feels her heart breaking at the news. It’s been a year since the plane crash, so Andy must still be mourning and probably will do her whole life. She thinks about how Andy always asks for something happy about the flower she buys and how it means that she wants her sisters to be happy wherever they are... And suddenly it makes sense why she works in Lykon’s ranch, because they have survived a trauma together. 

And maybe Quynh did lose her chance with Andy, because for the next two weeks she doesn’t come back to the flower shop. Quynh feels sad about it and kind of misses her. She was used to seeing the other woman once a week, and now that she doesn’t it feels like her daily routine has lost part of its meaning.

But surprisingly after the third week of nothing, Andy is back and talks to her like nothing bad has happened between them. Quynh is not sure what it means, but she follows her lead. This time Andy picks a bouquet of red lotus flowers and the change of the color choice makes her curious.

**_Lotus: sign of purity, enlightenment and self-regeneration._ **

“Not doing a multicolor theme this time?” Quynh asks Andy, trying not to show how intrigued she is.

“No, because this time the flowers are for a different person”, Andy answers simply.

“Ohh?” Quynh is not sure if she has the right to ask who they are for, so she just dedicates herself to prepare the bouquet.

“They are for you”, Andy lets her know, once she has paid for the flowers. 

“What?” She asks, too confused and shocked about it.

“I wanted to say I’m sorry for the other day at the cemetery, It was not a good moment for me and I overreacted. I shouldn’t have been so rude”, Andy explains, looking a little embarrassed. 

“Apologies accepted”, She says, appreciating that the other woman has enough personality to admit when she did something wrong. “How did you know these are my favorite flowers?” Quynh wants to know as she smells the lotus.

“I have good informants”, Andy says with a little smile.

Quynh senses she’s probably referring to Nile or Celeste. She has good friends after all. 

“Quynh?”, Andy calls her, before she leaves the shop.

“Yes?”, She asks back.

“Do you want to have coffee with me some time?” Andy proposes. 

“Yes, I would love that”, She answers sincerely and quickly, not wanting to let the opportunity pass by. 

“What about tomorrow? Are you free?” Andy requests to know, sounding a little anxious.

That makes Quynh feel flatter, it seems like she is not the only one who has been wanting to get to know the other better.

“Yes, you can pick me up from here at 4pm”, she says happily.

“Good”, Andy nods. “And Quynh, is a date”, she clarifies and then is gone, making her way out of the shop.

Quynh laughs at that. A date with the woman she likes, that’s all she has been wanting since the first moment Andy bought flowers in her shop. 

She wanders what flower is Andy’s favorite. She can’t wait to find out. Quynh likes the idea that one day she will ask her to marry her with a big romantic surprise, like taking her to a field full of her favorite flowers.

But for now, having a date and getting to know each other is more than good enough.

On the next day, Quynh chooses to take a sunflower to Andy for their date. She chooses sunflowers because they are the national flower of Ukraine.

But Quynh also knows what sunflowers symbolize...

**_Sunflowers: sign of adoration, loyalty and strength._ **


End file.
